


Beautiful

by Luna_guna13



Category: Fate/Grand Order
Genre: Angst, Don't overwork yourself like Gil bois, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Major Spoilers for the 7th Singularity, Mention of Rolling the Gacha, canon character death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-16
Updated: 2020-01-16
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:13:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22283155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Luna_guna13/pseuds/Luna_guna13
Summary: A glance into the development of Merlin's and Gilgamesh's relationship, throughout  the seventh Singularity.
Relationships: Gilgamesh | Caster/Merlin | Caster
Comments: 5
Kudos: 91





	Beautiful

**Author's Note:**

> WARNING: Major Spoilers for the 7th Singularity ! ( Additionally, if you haven't read the chapter, this one-shot might be a bit confusing to you)
> 
> I love this ship so much! ;w; ( Pixiv pursued me into liking it lol )  
> But there aren't a lot of fanfics out for them, so I decided to contribute to this rarepair!
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

1.

It was a busy day in Uruk, but the citizens of the ancient city have grown long since used to it, ever since the conflict between the humans and the gods arose, their king made sure to command and protect them with a keen eye and precision. The people of Uruk knew that they were in good hands and tried to serve their king as best as they could. 

The arrival of the Master of Chaldea simply boosted the morals of the citizens even further, which led to even greater efforts than before. The first seemingly impossible thought of victory against the gods slowly turned into reality and the brave residents of Uruk continued to strengthen their weapons and walls, to shapen their dream of freedom into reality.

Of course, this uproar of moral and boost of confidence laid more weight upon the, already exhausted, shoulders of the Wise King of Uruk, King Gilgamesh. 

The once arrogant, selfish and coldhearted tyrant, was working himself to death, to protect his kingdom and people. Something which didn't get unnoticed by his servants, especially by Merlin.

At first, the court mage chose to ignore it. After all, surely King Gilgamesh would notice himself, that over exhausting his body could end in a catastrophe. Gilgamesh was an essential asset on the battlefield, his presence was an absolute must. 

But the longer the mage of flowers chose to ignore it, the more apparent it became, that the Wise King was not going to stop himself from overworking. In fact, it seemed to Merlin like, that Gilgamesh was working more and more every day, refusing to listen to Siduri's pleas of taking a break.

So the Grand Caster decided to confront the King himself, in hope of being able to talk some sense into the stubborn man, called Gilgamesh.

It was early in the morning and the sun wasn't even near on rising, but Merlin assumed that Gilgamesh was awake, since he had the habit of not granting his body any form of sleep, so he simply barged into the King's room, without announcing his presence, commending it as unnecessary.

In the darkroom, with the only light source being a small flame, which was carefully produced with small amounts of mana, Merlin found the Wise King of Uruk sleeping soundly on his wooden table. It appeared to be, Gilgamesh was trying to read through the clay tablets, which were located on top of the table, but must have been too exhausted to continue on and simply passed out.

Merlin let an uncharacteristic smile, decorate his facial features when he saw the peaceful expression of his summoner. The usually prideful and hardworking King was here resting, with his lips displaying a soft and content smile.

Merlin couldn't help himself and basked in the glory of the surreal sight.   
Really, Merlin loved seeing Gilgamesh this relaxed and content, it was something so rare and unseen, that he wished he had one of the small metallic devices, to capture the moment for eternity.

He noticed that Gilgamesh started to shiver a bit, due to a cold breeze of wind swirling through the openly build room.

The half-incubus desired nothing more than to warm Gilgamesh's body with his own, he wished to be able to feel the divine skin of Gilgamesh, to be able to freely comb through the soft golden locks of the Wise King, to be able to freely demonstrate his feelings for the other...

The Grand Caster simply shook his head and freed himself from his selfish thoughts.

Merlin unbuttoned his long coat and gently placed it unto Gilgamesh's shoulders, trying his best not to wake the other. The once shivering body stopped shaking and the Wise King unconsciously released a pleased sound, at his servant's actions.

After making sure that he didn't wake up his beloved king, Merlin slowly went out of Gilgamesh's chambers and decided to make his way towards the Master of Chaldea, thinking that he could perhaps lend them a hand on their next task.

On his way out of the Ziggurat, Merlin met the loyal advisor of Gilgamesh, Siduri. The court mage was about to explain himself, on why he was coming out of the King's bedchambers, but Siduri simply greeted him with a knowing smile and continued to transport a new set of clay tablets. 

_'Hmm...'_

Was he _that_ obvious with his feelings towards the king? Merlin didn't know, but he truly wished that that wasn't the case, the last thing he desired was, putting even more pressure upon Gilgamesh, with revealing his feelings towards his summoner. 

Besides, it wasn't like Gilgamesh was ever going to return one of his servant's feelings, right?

  
\-----  
2.

Another successful mission, completed by the Master of Chaldea and another day, which Uruk and humanity survived. 

The team, which included the Master himself, his loyal Servant Mash Kyrielight and the court mage Merlin, climbed the elegantly built stairs of the ziggurat, to report their victory to King Gilgamesh. On their way to the King's throne, they met the energetic and cheerful rider-class servant, Ushiwakumaru. 

"Ushiwakumaru!" The Master of Chaldea cheerfully waved to the japanese servant and started to happily chat with the rider.  
It appeared to be that the two have come very close, though Merlin would not say in a romantic matter. The way that Ritsuka's eyes lit up with respect and admiration, already told the court mage enough to know that these two were not involved romantically.

He gave the quiet shielder, who was practically pouting at the situation a sympathetic smile, knowing that she was rather fond of her 'Senpai'.  
It appeared to be that the usual kind and polite Mash Kyrielight had a jealous side of her as well. 

As the two finished with catching up, the team finally found the time to report their victory to the king.

Like always, King Gilgamesh was busy. He was surrounded by guards, normal villagers and priestesses, that all demanded a meeting with the king. Although it appeared to be that things were more crowded than usual, the citizens of Uruk were shouting and yelling in frustration begging for their king to take action or for him to grant them a piece of his advice. 

It was _horrible_ , one wasn't even able to hear his damn own voice! It didn't help that the villagers and guards decided to fight with each other, childish arguing with who was first and who was not.   
It angered Merlin, no it made him _furious_. Their King, Gilgamesh, was working himself to death, guaranteeing the survival of the human race and this is how his beloved citizens decided to thank him?

Now, Merlin wasn't a man, who got easily riled up, but this was Gilgamesh! _His_ Gilgamesh and he wasn't going to let anyo-.

The king slammed his gauntlet against the throne, which resulted in silence echoing through the throne room.

"Calm yourselves, including _you_ Merlin." Gilgamesh shortly glanced at the mage with an unreadable expression and Merlin was surprised to say the least, that the other was able to identify his distress among the emotional crowd.

"I shall speak with everyone, but not at once. Create a line and wait for your turn."

The residents of Uruk silently agreed with their King and started to form a line, relieved at the fact that their king was able to stay calm in any situation.

"After this, I demand to speak with you, Merlin. Privately." 

After announcing his order, Gilgamesh started to listen to the request of the first person in line.

"Is everything alright, Merlin?" The concerned voice of the shielder servant, startled Merlin a bit, but the court mage tried his best to face Mash with his usual playful smirk.

"Of course it is! Why wouldn't everything be alright?" The court mage ended his response with nervous chuckles, trying his best to cover his previous emotions.

"Alright then, Senpai and I are going to assist the mother's of Uruk now, I originally planned on asking if you wanted to join us, but now..." The shielder trailed off, glancing to the side not really sure on how to end her sentence.

"Ah, it's fine Mashu, don't worry about me. Have fun on your little date with Ritsuka!" The demi-servant blushed at the other's teasing and silently waved him goodbye. 

As she walked away, the half-incubus noticed a small cloaked girl standing behind him.

"Ah, Ana! What can I help you with?"

The said girl, simply glared at the Grand Caster, with murderous eyes.

"Idiot Merlin." And With that, the Lancer-class servant walked away leaving a dumbfounded Merlin behind.

"Eh..?"

_‘Have I done something to displease her?’_

In all means, Merlin was fully aware of the fact, that Ana wasn’t very fond of him, but she appeared to demonstrate her distaste for him, even more than the usual.

After thinking about the topic for a few minutes, Merlin simply shook it off, not rally deeming it as an important matter anyway.

The court mage instead decided to happily watch Gilgamesh solve problems and bark out orders, simply enjoying being able to freely be near the king.

Although he did wonder why King Gilgamesh wished to speak with him, perhaps he was unsatisfied with his accomplishments? 

Well, whatever it may be, it was relevant enough for Gilgamesh to point it out, so the court mage was going to try his best, to satisfy the Wise King of Uruk.

  
———

Merlin waited a lot longer than he originally anticipated, the line of people seemed endless and wouldn’t stop, so Gilgamesh was occupied from dawn to late at night. 

And now, the par was silently walking towards the king’s bedchambers, with Merlin feeling unusually anxious. 

As they reached the large and luxurious room, Gilgamesh let out an exaggerated sigh.

“Merlin, what happened to you out there?” 

The blonde turned around, scarlet red eyes slowly studying him with curiosity and perhaps a hint of desperation? 

No, he was probably imagining that King Gilgamesh wouldn’t look at Merlin like _that._

“I’m not sure I can quite follow, Gilgamesh.”

The demigod slowly walked towards the flower mage, the act reminding Merlin a lot of a cat, elegantly sneaking unto its pray. Just that this time, he was the pray. A situation he would rather not like to find himself in.

“You know exactly what I’m talking about.” 

  
Gilgamesh’s voice was smooth, tainted in creamlike honey. 

Merlin was starting to seriously question, who really was the half-incubus of the two. 

The way Gilgamesh’s hips gently swayed from left to right, the way the blonde’s revealing clothing teased Merlin, with showing parts of skin, that _shouldn’t_ be exposed.

When Gilgamesh stopped with his seductive movements, his face was a mere inches away from the court mage’s.

His voice was barely a whisper, the blonde’s perfect lips moving against one another, making them softly glisten in the sunlight.

“Merlin...why are you lying to _me_?” And as the words left Gilgamesh’s mouth, the seductive King immediately fell back, leaving a blushy and aroused Merlin behind.

“You’re really bad at hiding your desires, Merlin.” 

  
The Grand Caster swallowed the large lump that was unconsciously starting to build inside of his throat.

“I-I am?” Merlin usually didn't get all blushy and shy, but King Gilgamesh was simply far too good at these kinds of games.

The blonde hummed, no more like purred, a lighthearted response.

“You desire me...or at least this body of mine.” 

Gilgamesh elegantly traced along the lithe form of his stomach, with the tips of his fingers, slowly and suggestively.

Merlin simply stood still, gaze locked dead-set on the king's beautiful form, his throat suddenly felt so dry and the temperature of the room had become unbearable.

But, The magical moment got ruined by the king’s boasting laughter.

“Go get some rest, magus. Or else you might really try to kill someone, because of me.” 

The heated air disappeared and Merlin found himself standing outside of the king’s bedchambers.

“O-Of course! Have a good night, Gilgamesh.” Merlin's words were still a bit shaky as they left his mouth.

The only reply, which he received was another hum and the court mage decided to go to his room.

——-  
3.  
It was late afternoon and the city of Uruk was in chaos. One of the members of the three Goddess Alliance had broken through the front gate of Uruk, destroying everything in her path. 

Her name was Quetzalcoatl, she had killed dozens of innocent civilians one after another, leaving no one alive.

What’s worse, she collected the bodies of the dead, for reasons unknown, but it was horrible to know that the fallen residents of Uruk wouldn’t even receive a proper burial.

Gilgamesh aggressively barked orders at his servants, hastily guiding them, but being careful about it as well, he didn’t wish to lose even more men.

Eventually, the team of Chaldea managed to calm the goddess down, but the death of their fellow comrades left a sore spot for the inhabitants of Uruk.

  
After Quetzalcoatl left the battlefield, Ritsuka, Merlin and Mash made their way to the Ziggurat, reporting once again the outcome of the battle.

“Taking the body of the dead?” King Gilgamesh rested his head on top of his hand and bitterly muttered the words.

“Why would she do such a thing?” The blonde clearly wasn’t happy with that fact, but he tried his best to maintain a kingly posture.

“We’re not quite sure either King Gilgamesh. But from talking with her we have learned...”

As the conversation grew longer and more in-depth, Merlin started to realize that the King’s eyes were sometimes unfocused or that his responses were always a tad delayed.

The half-incubus looked around, wondering if he was the only one who noticed the horrible state Gilgamesh was in.

But it appeared to be, that no one else did, not even Siduri. They were all too focused on the matter before them, not deeming it necessary to study the Wise King.

Merlin hated it, he truly did. The longer the conversation was, the more details fell into the mages eye. 

Gilgamesh’s movements were slow and a bit shaky, one wouldn’t be able to notice them, unless they calmly studied the other.

Additionally, Gilgamesh seemed to have this empty look in his eyes. It seemed like, there was no more life in them anymore, that all the energy has been sucked out of them, leaving a cold and empty _corpse_ behind.

It took all of Merlin’s willpower to not run-up to the man and tightly embrace him, shielding him from the harsh onslaught of work.

But Merlin knew that Gilgamesh wouldn’t want that, the wise king was the one that gave humanity hope. And if he fell, who else would be there to lead them? _No one._

So the court mage stood still, silently torturing himself and observing the conversation, hoping it would end soon so that Gilgamesh could at least take a few minutes of rest.

  
As the report finally ended, Gilgamesh excused himself, stating that he wished to design a new and better battle strategy.

Everyone happily obliged and let the Wise King return to his bedchambers in peace... everyone except Merlin.

The court mage silently followed the other, trying his best to be as quiet as possible.

Every time the blonde slowed down or stopped in his tracks, Merlin hastily hid behind a pillar or pretended that he was talking to one of the roaming guards. The court mage felt a bit silly at the act, especially since he could always just use illusion magic, to cover himself up, but he feared that he might get tongue-tied in front of Gilgamesh, so he stuck to more primitive methods.

Gilgamesh slowed down once again and Merlin prepared himself to hide behind an elegant pillar until he noticed that the blonde's footsteps were a bit uneasy, the demi-god staggered from right to left and suddenly fell backwards.

Merlin panicky pushed himself up and jumped to the blonde's aid, catching Gilgamesh and making sure that he wouldn't hit his head. In turn, Merlin harshly crashed against the floor, his own head hitting the clay floor, but he didn't care about that, his priority was the safety of the person, lying in his arms. 

Merlin's vision was unclear and his head was pounding, but he was able to identify two scarlet eyes slowly blinking and curiously studying him.

"M..Merlin?"

Gilgamesh's voice sounded confused and tired, so much more different from before.

After blinking a couple of times, the court mage's vision and senses finally returned.

Merlin gently touched Gilgamesh's cheek and moved his head from left to right, checking if the other had any obvious injuries on him. 

"Are you feeling alright?" 

Gilgamesh stood still for a bit, making it seem like he had trouble distinguishing if he was in pain or not.

Eventually, he slowly shook his head, while tiredly blinking at the man under him.

"That's good."

The half-incubus gradually stood up, while still firmly holding Gilgamesh in his arms.

  
"Where are we going?" The blonde looked up to Merlin with a dazed expression.

"To your room. You have to get some rest, you're obviously not yourself right now." 

The Wise king simply let out a hum and buried his face into his servant's chest, enjoying its welcoming warmth. The mage of flowers was a bit startled at the other's actions, but couldn't help but smile at the endearing movement.

"Shamelessly playing with my heart once again, huh?"

But Gilgamesh didn't reply, because he couldn't. The last time he had a proper night of sleep was months ago and Merlin's presence was just too comforting, but the wise king wouldn't admit that out loud. So the blonde felt himself drifting off into the colorful dreamworld and happily snuggled himself into the comforting heat source, even if the act wasn't very kinglike, he simply hoped that no one saw them.

After Merlin realized that the blonde had fallen asleep in his arms, the court mage carefully transported Gilgamesh to his room and delicately placed him on top of the silky sheets.

After laying the king on his bed and wrapping him in the silky sheets, the court mage wasn't quite sure what to do with himself. 

So after holding an inner debate with himself, the half-incubus decided to sit on the floor of the balcony, silently watching the sleeping form of the other, while basking in the warm light of the afternoon sun.

Seeing that the hardworking king was finally getting some rest, Merlin found his eyelids gradually getting heavier as well and started to doze off in the warm sun rays.  
  
\-----  
4.  
The master of Chaldea, Ana and Merlin were returning from their successful mission, to bring the Goddess Quetzalcoatl on their side.

It was surprisingly easy, the group received no casualties and minor injuries. They were about to pass through the first gate of Uruk until they saw the running figure of Siduri approaching them. Her movements were desperate and sloppy as if she hadn't slept for the past days.

"Siduri?!" Ritsuka worriedly caught the woman, as she practically threw herself at his neck.

"S-Something terrible has happened!" The beautiful advisor of King Gilgamesh looked horrible, she had tears running down her eyes and dark circles under them.

"The K-King!" The woman started to panic, her breathing was shallow and uneven, her face twisted in pure agony.

"Calm down, Siduri!" The Master of Chaldea tried to calm the woman down, while gently petting her back and giving her reassuring squeezes.

"The King!" Siduri gave Merlin a short and unreadable sideglance.

"What's wrong with King Gilgamesh?" Mash gently asked the woman.

"H-He's dead!" 

Merlin didn't hear the rest anymore. He didn't hear the shocked gasps of disbelief of the others either. It was like time itself stood still, after the announcement.

 _'He's dead?'_ The court mage went over the words once more in his head.

Dead?... There was no way, right? King Gilgamesh wouldn't just die like that! After all, he _promised_ Merlin! He promised that he would remain seated on his throne so that he wouldn't die on the battlefield, so that he could continue with barking out orders, to protect his people...but now he was _dead?_

It was simply impossible! Gilgamesh wouldn't just die like that! He didn't believe it, no he simply refused to believe it until he saw it with his own eyes. Surely this was just a simple and cruel joke, Gilgamesh decided to play on them, right? After all the King loved to be entertained, so surely this must be a joke.

The Grand Caster shoved Ritsuka out of the way and ran up to the Ziggurat, he _had_ to see him. Merlin wanted to see his beautiful face, he ached to hear his voice, he craved to touch his soft skin once more.

But the throne room was empty, the throne itself was cold and deserted.

There was a small group of guards guarding it and Merlin grabbed the closest guard's shirt.

"Where is he?!" The words were spoken with venom, each syllable tinted with murderous intent. 

The guard hesitantly swallowed and pointed to the general direction of Gilgamesh's room.

Merlin ran into the royal bedchambers, despite the protests of the guards and suddenly stopped at the cruel sight displayed in front of him.

There he was, dressed in all white surrounded by beautiful flowers, peacefully resting on top of his bed. His skin was paler than usual and he wasn't breathing, but he looked so peaceful. Merlin shakily touched Gilgamesh's hand and flinched at the coldness of it, he hated how relaxed the other looked like. Like he finally received the rest which he deserved so much, but it wasn't supposed to be like _this_! This was way too cruel, even for a person like Merlin. The half-incubus gently combed through the golden locks, silently hoping that Gilgamesh would stir awake by his gentle gestures.

Merlin didn't even feel the gentle hand on top of his shoulder until it tenderly squeezed him.

As Merlin turned around he got face to face with the understanding eyes of Siduri.

"Merlin...I understand how you must feel, but Chaldea has found a solution."

Her words were kind and gentle, each one them spoken with care and tenderness.

" A solution...?" Merlin quietly muttered the words under his breath, not sure if he heard the royal advisor quite right.

The woman softly nodded and urged for Merlin to follow her.

The Grand Caster hated the idea of leaving Gilgamesh's body, but if they found a way to bring him back then he had to know how.

The two hurriedly ran to the throne room, where the rest of the team patiently waited.

  
As they arrived Merlin noticed how everyone gave him questioning and concerning looks, even Ana appeared to be concerned about him.

So he simply tried his best to play it cool and hide his true feeling, he truly didn’t wish for anyone to know about them.

“ _Ah~_ , my apologies everyone. I was just a bit startled, so I decided to see for myself.”

The group wasn’t very convinced, especially the Master of Chaldea himself, but they continued on nevertheless.

“We can retrieve King Gilgamesh’s soul from the underworld and bring him back to life.” The shielder said the words loud and clear, making them echo through the throne room.

_‘Bring him back?’_

Merlin would be able to see him again? He was allowed to see those beautiful ruby red eyes open once more? It was too much for him to handle at the moment, first trying his best to cope with the feelings of despair and denial of his summoner’s death and then now finding out they could simply revive him?! 

These intense feelings were swirling through the mage of flowers, silencing him. He wasn’t able to release any sound at all, so he just decided to watch the scene occurring in front of him, while clutching tightly unto his staff.

“Anyway, Mash, Ishtar and Ritsuka are going to go the underworld to retrieve his soul.” 

Ah, so he wasn’t even supposed to come then, even though he really wished to be the one to hold his beloved king’s soul, even if it only would be for a mere second.

“Ana, Quetzacoatl and Merlin are going to stay here to take care of Uruk, alright?”

The static voice of Dr. Archaman blared through Ritsuka’s bracelet while explaining the mission to the team, none of them noticing the horrible state Merlin was in.

“Any questions?” 

All of them gave the doctor energetic replies, like _' Nope!'_ or _' We can do this!'_. Merlin simply shook his head as an answer.

  
"Alright then, operation: Retrieve the soul of King Gilgamesh, starts now!"

\----

Merlin was assigned to look over the king's body, in case he would awaken or something unusual started to happen, but Merlin was well aware of the fact, that Siduri only assigned him to do it, because she knew his mental state wasn't stable enough for anything else.

So he simply decided to comb Gilgamesh's soft golden locks again, making sure that his every move was gentle and slow. The Grand Caster feared, that he could break the delicate sleeping figure in front of him, so he tried his best to be as gentle as possible.

As time passed, Merlin forged with ease a beautiful and elegant flower and placed it behind the blonde's ear. 

"You're as beautiful as the flower, Gilgamesh." The words were spoken heavily with sadness and desperation and Merlin slowly closed his eyes, feeling exhausted at today's events.

"Is that so?" 

The voice was so arrogant, so proud, so overbearing, so...

"Gilgamesh." 

The Mage of Flowers hastily opened his eyes and got greeted with those beautiful and alluring eyes, he had missed so much over the course of the past days.

Merlin was about to jump from happiness and hug the other, but restrained himself at the end. After all, this was king Gilgamesh, right? He wouldn’t want his servant to be this close with him.

  
But then the half-incubus felt delicate fingers grabbing his chin, forcing him to look down to the other.

“Really...I thought you simply lusted after me, but after seeing this look...” Gilgamesh let out a sigh and raised himself to a sitting position, on the middle section of the large bed.

“But I guess it can’t be helped.”

The blonde raised both of his arms to the side and gave Merlin an anticipated look. 

“So? What are you waiting for? The king is offering you, to hug hi-.” 

  
Gilgamesh wasn’t able to finish his sentence, before the Grand Caster flung himself at the inviting body and buried Gilgamesh flat against his own chest, practically crushing the other.

  
“M-Mer-rlin....” Gilgamesh helplessly scratched the mage’s back, signaling him, that his grip was a bit too harsh.

“Oh! I apologize...” He softened his grip, but didn’t dare to let go, who knows if he was ever granted permission to hug the other again.

The blonde let out a sigh again and hesitantly returned the hug, giving the Grand Caster a few unsure pats on the back.

  
“I’m here now okay?” Gilgamesh wasn’t really sure how to comfort the other, but he hated to see the usual mischievous and playful Grand Caster so hurt, so he tried his best to cheer him up.

“So stop sulking around, alright?” 

  
Merlin pressed his nose into Gilgamesh’s soft hair and inhaled the calming scent of the other while mumbling quietly.

“Yeah...I _promise.”_

———  
5.

The final battle against the Goddess Tiamat had arrived.

The sky was tainted in a disgusting red, so _different_ from the king's beautiful eyes.

Everywhere Merlin looked, the horror of the singularity's events were blatantly displayed, corpses of the dead, mutating to those disgusting creatures and the black chaos waves swallowing anyone and anything under its gruesome path.

Everything was so dark, rotten to the core, corrupting the souls of the innocent, so sinister, except... _him._

Here he was, the oldest hero, King Gilgamesh standing high and proud with a deep gushing wound in his chest, smiling wickedly at the Goddess herself.

"Is that _all_ you can do?" The voice was thick with arrogance and pride, mocking the divine beast in front of him.

Gilgamesh gave her and unimpressed laugh.

"Though I must admit, your aim isn't half so bad."

The blonde was clearly at his limit soon, yet he refused to bow to anyone, rather dying like a king then living the life of a dog. Merlin was about to rush to his aide, but his summoner raised a signal for him to stop and gave Merlin a gentle head shake.

"King Gilgamesh, you have to come with us!" Ritsuka's voice broke through the thunderous roaring of the goddess of the salt sea, hastily waving to the king.

"Don't be a fool! I am the final lure after all!" Gilgamesh shot the last bits of his treasury, baiting the Goddess to follow him.

"Come Tiamat, crush me!" As he spoke those words Tiamat raised her tail and aimed it at the wounded King and before Gilgamesh met his demise, his eyes locked unto Merlin's once more.

There were no words spoken, it was a moment of mutual understanding, giving their final goodbyes to the other and Gilgamesh urging Merlin to fight on, regardless of his inevitable death.

And Merlin didn't believe his own eyes as he saw the gentle smile of Gilgamesh, it was a smile he had never seen the other do. It was so different from his usual arrogant smirks and sneers, but it was so incredibly beautiful. The smile mirrored the gratitude and affection the other held for the Grand Caster, even though he had never openly stated them.

The half-incubus felt like it was only reserved for _him_ and _only him_ alone.

But like all good things, the moment ended with Tiamat's cruel tail destroying the platform Gilgamesh was on, creating a huge cloud of dust, covering the entire area.

"Merlin...We have to go." The shielder's voice brought Merlin back to reality and the mage turned around to give her a reassuring glance.

"Hm, let's end this, Chaldea!"

\----

They somehow managed to trap Tiamat in the Underworld and with the help of the First Hassan they were able to strip her from her immortality.

Regardless, the Goddess refused to give up and continued to shower the team with gruesome curses and attacks. 

Merlin's magic was in full bloom, decorating the usual cold and unlively underworld with elegant flowers, supporting the team of Chaldea.

But then the divine beast aimed a direct spell unto the Master of Chaldea, which thankfully got blocked by his trusted Servant Mash, yet the power behind the hit was enormous and the demi-servant got thrown back into the field of flowers, eventually being stopped by a harsh wall, which knocked her breath away.

"Mash!" Ritsuka rushed to the shielder's side, helping her up.

"S-Senpai..." Her voice was ragged and exhausted, but she stood up nevertheless.

The pair hopelessly looked at the Goddess, which was the reason for so much hate and despair, almost losing hope until...

 _"Hah!_ It appears to be that you are in dire need of my help!"

A burst of boasting laughter boomed from the depths of the underworld, casted by a blurry shadow.

  
"King Gilgamesh?!" 

_'Eh?'_

Merlin couldn't believe it, right in front of him stood the person, he just witnessed dying and bidded farewell, with his beloved Sword of Rupture in hand.

"What's the matter, _magus_? Too shocked to speak?"

Gilgamesh openly teased Merlin, but there was a tender softness to his voice, that not even Merlin was going to deny.

"You...really are something else." The Grand Caster let out a tired sigh and sheepishly scratched his head.

"Something else? Of course, I am! I'm the oldest Hero after all!" The self-praise was said with such a boyish grin, Merlin couldn't help but laugh as well.

"Sorry to interrupt your little reunion, but we got work to do!" The voice of the Goddess of Venus chimed in and popped the little bubble, the two found themselves in.

The pair looked at each other, before giving the other a reassuring nod and turning their heads to the Goddess Tiamat.

  
"It is time, to free humanity from the chains of the gods!"

  
\------  
6.

The Master of Chaldea cleared the 7th Singularity: Babylonia and prevented humanity from its extinction.

After three whole nights of celebrating and drinking, the staff of Chaldea returned to their usual tasks and assignments.

Currently, Ritsuka was summoning for new servants, to strengthen Chaldea's already impressive line up of servants.

The Grand Caster, Merlin idly watched the sad attempts of his master, trying to summon a powerful heroic-spirit, while sipping on his colorful drink that Emiya prepared for everyone.

"I don't understand! Why is no one coming!" The usual carefree and joyous Ritsuka was now angrily kicking the shield, that deemed to assist him during his summons.

A few other servants, watched the summoning session as well, giving their Master pitiful glances. 

Somehow their Master got frustrated fairly easy, when it came to summoning a new heroic-spirit, which they truly didn't understand, but they decided to leave him be, since his outbursts could be rather terrifying.

Only Mash dared to calm the Master of Chaldea down.

"S-Senpai, please calm down."

But then, after the almost 30th attempt, the summoning circle enveloped itself in a golden light, releasing sparks of mana.

"Finally!" Ritsuka tightly clutched both of his hands, while anticipatingly watching the golden sparks. 

As the light died down, a burst of familiar booming laughter echoed through the room.

And immediately Merlin's and the other's eyes locked onto each other, not daring to look at anything else.

"Servant Caster, _Gilgamesh._ " The blonde crossed his arms and didn't even pay attention to his original summoner, idly letting his veil-like cloth flow through the air.

"Don't get cocky, _mongrel._ "

  


  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Wahhhh! This One-shot is so much longer than I originally planned it to be ( like always lmao ).
> 
> So I still hoped you enjoyed it!
> 
> (And I'm pretty sure, that I'm going to write a shorter sequel about this story, out of Gilgamesh's perspective!)
> 
> (My twitter if anyone ist interested : https://twitter.com/FrozenMoon5)


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